1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for and a method of reading information wherein a plurality of preset apparatuses for carrying out pre-scan processes and set-up processes and a main scan apparatus for performing a main scan process can be arbitrarily combined, thereby making it possible to achieve high operating efficiency.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image information reading device is conventionally used in the printing and platemaking fields for electrically processing image information recorded in originals or subjects to produce original film plates with a view toward simplifying the entire process and improving the quality of printed images.
In the image information reading device, an original with image information recorded therein is held in an original cassette, and the original cassette storing the original is fed to an image information reading unit by a cassette feed mechanism. The image information carried by the original is first read at a coarse pitch by an image information reading mechanism (this is referred to as "pre-scan"). Thereafter, scanning conditions and image processing conditions are set to the so-read image information (this is referred to as "set-up"). The set up original is read again at a fine pitch by the image information reading mechanism, the so-read image information then being processed according to the scanning conditions and the image processing conditions set up as described above, thereby determining desired processed image information (this is referred to as "main scan").
However, when the entire process is carried out by a single image input processing device at the time that the desired processed image information is determined from the original in the above-described manner, respective apparatuses subjected to a set-up process remain idle while being in a pre-scan operation and in a main scan operation. On the other hand, the operations of both the cassette feed mechanism and the image input processing mechanism must be stopped while the apparatuses subjected to the set-up process are being activated. Therefore, a limitation is imposed on the quantity of originals which can be processed in a day, so that the operating efficiency of the image information reading device cannot be improved.